Teaching Tips & Strategies
How to get the most out of our workbooks.
Welcome to our Teaching Tips hub!
Our workbooks and worksheets cover a wide range of ages (2 to 10) and subjects. To help you get the most out of these resources, we've compiled a list of core teaching strategies tailored to each developmental stage.
Many of our math activities are inspired by the highly effective Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) approach, ensuring children truly understand the concepts rather than just memorizing formulas.
Ages 2–4: Early Years & Fine Motor Skills
At this stage, learning is all about exploration, play, and building fine motor control.
- Pencil Grip & Tracing: Don't worry about perfect lines. Focus on helping them hold crayons or thick pencils comfortably. Encourage them to trace slowly.
- Concrete Counting: Before counting the items on the page, use physical objects! Count out 3 real buttons or blocks, then count the 3 apples on the worksheet.
- Read Aloud Together: For early literacy and alphabet worksheets, say the letter sounds out loud ("A makes the 'ah' sound") rather than just the letter name.
Ages 5–6: Foundations & Visual Math
Children at this age are transitioning from recognizing numbers to performing basic operations. Visual aids are crucial.
- Using Ten Frames: A ten frame is a 2x5 grid that helps children visualize numbers up to 10. Encourage your child to fill the top row (5) first before moving to the bottom row. This helps them quickly subitize (e.g., seeing that 7 is "a 5 and a 2").
- The Pictorial Step: If a worksheet asks to add 3 and 2, have them look at the pictures on our worksheets and physically point to them while counting, before writing the abstract numbers.
- Sight Words & Blending: When reading simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, encourage them to sound out each letter and blend them smoothly.
Ages 7–8: Number Sense & Fact Families
Math gets more abstract here, but maintaining a strong foundation in "number sense" prevents future struggles.
- Understanding Number Bonds: You'll see "number bonds" frequently. A number bond shows a "part-part-whole" relationship. Instead of just memorizing 4 + 6 = 10, a number bond helps a child see that 10 can be broken into 4 and 6, or 7 and 3.
- Fact Families: A "Fact Family" is a group of math facts made from the same three numbers (e.g., 2, 3, and 5). Have them write out all four facts: 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 2 = 5, 5 - 2 = 3, 5 - 3 = 2. It shows that addition and subtraction are just opposites.
- Multiplication as Arrays: When introducing times tables, draw them as arrays (rows and columns of dots) so children see that 3x4 is the same as 4x3.
Ages 9–10: Advanced Arithmetic & Problem Solving
This age band tackles multi-digit arithmetic, fractions, and critical thinking.
- Bar Modeling for Word Problems: When dealing with complex word problems, teach them to draw rectangular bars to represent quantities. This helps visualize who has more, who has less, and what the total is before doing any math.
- Fractions as Pieces: Always relate fractions back to the "whole". Use visuals (like pizzas or chocolate bars) to explain why 1/2 is bigger than 1/4.
- Encourage Mistakes & Logic Puzzles: You will often find logic puzzles or missing operator challenges. Encourage your child to try different solutions, erase, and try again. The goal isn't speed—it's building problem-solving resilience.